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Where does John Kitzhaber spend most of his time? Portland, not Salem, calendar shows

kitzhaber_portland.jpg

When Gov. John Kitzhaber announced plans to run again in 2014, he did so at a Portland elementary school. Kitzhaber has made Portland not only his home but the center of operations instead of Salem.
(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

When Gov. John Kitzhaber won his historic third term four years ago, he declared that Portland – not Salem -- would remain his home and base of operations. That's a promise he's kept.

The governor's calendar shows he spends the vast majority of his time at his office in Portland's World Trade Center and his home in Cedar Hills, staying overnight only occasionally in Mahonia Hall, the Salem mansion provided for Oregon governors.

In a typical day, Kitzhaber, a Democrat, might be driven to Salem by his Oregon State Police bodyguards, work four to six hours in the Capitol, then zip back to Portland. More days than not, the governor stays put in Portland or travels out of state.

The pattern holds when the Legislature is in session and didn't change when the Cover Oregon debacle was swirling around the governor's office.

Kitzhaber, his calendar makes clear, has become the first governor in modern state history to shift the seat of political power from the capital to Portland.

In an age of cell phones and email, a governor doesn't have to at the Capitol to get work done. Lawmakers have praised Kitzhaber for his accessibility.

But the practice opens him up to criticism that he's absent from the daily churn of Salem politics, reinforcing a reputation for aloofness.

The governor declined through his spokeswoman to be interviewed. Nkenge Harmon Johnson, his communications director, said in an email, "The governor does value spending time in Portland where his son attends school."

But, she added, "I can't agree with your premise. Given that he is governor of the state, Gov. Kitzhaber works in communities across our state."

An analysis of the governor's calendar for the past 10 and a half months, shows he spent portions of 74 days in Salem compared with 219 days in Portland, most of those full days. He spent 26 nights at Mahonia Hall.

When the Legislature met for the short 2014 session in February and March, he spent less than half his time in Salem, his calendar shows. Over the session's 33 days, Kitzhaber spent portions of 15 days in Salem, often returning to Portland by midafternoon.

He also spent five days in Washington, D.C., during the session and two with the Estes Park Institute, a health policy think tank, of which he is a fellow.

Since July 1, 2013, Kitzhaber has devoted 13 days to the institute, which holds conferences around the country. He has taken at least 47 days of vacation since July 1, 2013, including weekends, according to his calendar, although on a handful of those days he also made official phone calls.

Kitzhaber isn't alone among statewide elected officials in his preference for Portland. Secretary of State Kate Brown and Treasurer Ted Wheeler each commute to Salem from Portland most days. But he is the only one to set up shop outside of Salem on a near full-time basis.

In that, he differs from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and California Gov. Jerry Brown, both Democrats. Brown rented an upscale apartment across the street from the Capitol in Sacramento and lives there with his wife. He still owns a home in the Oakland hills but frequents Sacramento restaurants and bars.

Inslee moved into the executive residence in Olympia.

"There are very few days where he operates out of Seattle instead of Olympia," Inslee's spokesman David Postman said by email. "When he's in Seattle, it is usually for specific meetings or events in the area."

Mahonia Hall in Salem is reserved for the use of Oregon governors. Kitzhaber rarely stays there.Yuxing Zheng/The Oregonian

Former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts, a Democrat who moved into Mahonia Hall from Portland when she was elected in 1990, said she understands why Kitzhaber would want to live where his son, Logan, goes to high school. Being in Salem is no longer a job requirement for governor, Roberts said.

"That's what emails are for," she said. "That's what phones are for."

Yet she can't help but think about what the governor is giving up by dashing in and out of the Capitol and Salem.

She and her late husband, former state Sen. Frank Roberts, liked socializing in Mahonia.

"It's a beautiful residence," she said. "It's hard for me to imagine not enjoying it. But it's not everyone's cup of tea."

And Roberts said she made a point of strolling through the Capitol, whether to grab coffee in the basement cafeteria or simply to see whom she might run into.

"There was this sense that people had that you were there," Roberts said. "And I thought it mattered. People need to see their governor once in awhile."

Kitzhaber, who plans to make climate change a bigger issue if he's elected to a fourth term, could be faulted for his own carbon footprint given his frequent back-and-forth trips. Although his personal car is a Prius, he typically is driven by his state police guard contingent plus a follow car. At least one is a Chevy Tahoe SUV.

His Republican opponent in the November election, state Rep. Dennis Richardson, of Central Point, said Kitzhaber made the wrong decision when he chose to stay in Portland.

A governor, Richardson said, is CEO of the state and should act like it. "Salem is the capital of the state, and the governor should live in the capital, be accessible to leaders in his executive branch as well as legislative leaders."

No members of the Legislature have complained publicly about a lack of access to Kitzhaber or his staff. In fact, early in his term, members were effusive about him being more accessible than ever.

But charges that he appeared caught by surprise by the Cover Oregon disaster have stuck. Even Kitzhaber acknowledged he missed some key signals. During a Nov. 22 press conference, he told reporters, "In retrospect, I should have been more engaged in the project. I didn't realize the problems were so significant."

Richardson said Kitzhaber should have been more hands-on.

"I think he's disconnected," Richardson said, "and being in Portland is maybe just part of that."

Former Gov. Vic Atiyeh, Oregon's last Republican in the job, lived just down the street from the Capitol during his two terms and was known for impromptu walks through the hallways and into the pressroom to hobnob with everyone from tourists to reporters.

"He needs to be where his agency heads are," Atiyeh said. "They shouldn't have to drive to where he is."

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